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Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”

   Jesus directs his words to those who hear. In other words He knows some of His hearers were truly listening, actually taking His teaching to heart. And what does He say to them? He gives them one of the most difficult commands to keep.
   Indeed, how does the Lord Jesus expect us to genuinely follow such a command? We have many in our day who will keep it in their flesh, being their best selves. They will use tactics of the flesh and mind to discipline themselves to be nice to everyone, even their bitterest enemies. But is that truly what is being taught here? Is it enough to coax the meanness out of ourselves? Or is Christ calling for something more?
   What is it that Jesus has done? He has made a way of redemption available to the bitterest of God’s human enemies. He has suffered at the hands of His creations. Above anyone He has shown what it means to love one’s enemies, and to do good for those who hate you. Make no mistake here, Jesus alone has made it possible for us to live by this dictum. Only by new life in Christ may we have a heart and soul that can truly love the unlovable. Don’t get this wrong. Don’t try to manufacture a love that you are incapable of without Him.
   We live in a time where men are trying to have practical goodness without true holiness. Decency has been transformed and elevated. Intolerance has been named tolerance, and good evil. All is on its head. The ‘nicest’ folks are diabolically evil, and yet it is so hard to see. But it is life in Christ that truly makes love possible.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for life in Christ! Without it we have no hope to live right before You. We can only shadow what You intend, and end up in a deeper hole. Oh Father, make us students of Your truth! You have all that we need. We will seek to You for our souls and find the great rewarding treasure of Your Word. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

   Though the Jews of Jesus’ day would claim solidarity with the true prophets, it was the same kind of group that aligned themselves with the false prophets in the past. Jesus points this out here. Persecution is not a new thing. People of faith have suffered it form the beginning. We must never be tempted to feel sorry for ourselves when we are mistreated for Christ’s sake. The alternative is more to be feared.

   Heavenly Father, You have for all of history been there for Your people. You have seen every tear and comforted every heart that belonged to You. You are our great consolation and wonderful reward! I will praise You for Your faithfulness is beyond all we could ask. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:25 “Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.”

   Notice here the word ‘now’. Jesus uses this word on several occasions to highlight a very particular item. There is a now, and there is a later. The word ‘woe’ is also important to consider. It is a heavy prophetic term. It specifically denotes impending doom of the wrath of God variety. It alerts the hearer that God has plans to judge a group or individual.
   Those who are full of this world’s food, whether literal material food or figuratively fullness of this world’s goods, are on the path to destruction. Many there be that walk this road. They laugh, in that they are tickled with their apparent success. But, the days will come when ‘now’ is over and later has arrived.
   There is no petty jealousy in this, but the jealousy of the God Who made everything and everyone. This is all about allegiance to Him and His Christ. Many after these words of Christ have tried to make Him out to say that material things are evil, but that is obviously not His point. The love of material things over spiritual things is the great danger He hopes to deliver us from.

   Heavenly Father, You are God over all. The material world is Yours. It belongs to You, you made every part of it. All riches and foodstuffs belong to You. But beyond that, laughter belongs to You. Our very moods and mental states are Your possession. We have not the right to claim them as simply our own, but as that which You have given us to enjoy. May our attitude always show Your altitude! Oh Father You are wise and loving and holy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:24 “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.”

   This must be kept in context, just as the previous verses. Jesus is not condemning the rich out of hand. He is speaking of those who have become rich, powerful, influential and so forth by kowtowing to the whims of the times. They have gained the ‘good things’ in life by going with the flow of the present wickedness. They give the god of this world little to no resistance, and will curry his favor if they think they can excuse it.
   It is to these that Jesus is speaking. And He gives them a sobering bit of logic. Though we may not see it on the face of it, this is quite a slap in the face to those who value the things of this world above the things of God. Jesus is literally saying that what these folks are enjoying is the best they will ever get. The trinkets of the ungodly are their best and brightest hope since they have turned their backs on what God offers. Though to the man of the world this makes some type of sense, it is a sad picture indeed. If the creations of man are traded for the glories of the future world, an infinite amount is missed for all of eternity. The pleasures of this life are no substitute for what Paul calls that ‘great and eternal weight of glory.’

   Heavenly Father, as we consider the baubles of this life, they are less than shadow and smoke when compared to the slightest of Your glorious rewards. Just the blessings afforded us in this current lifetime as Your humble servants are enough to make us see the difference, let alone that which waits in eternity. Today I will praise You for Your greatness O Lord! You alone have created everything. All is sustained by Your will. The future is Your playground, and all waits on You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”

   This is quite a significant parallel to draw. The prophets were the messengers of Jehovah God to the Jewish people. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day claimed to be faithful to all that the prophets had spoken. The antagonism of these leaders put Jesus and His followers in a position of opposition to them. The claim here then is that Jesus and His doctrine were consistent with the Old Testament prophets, and that His followers could legitimately identify with them.
   Beyond this, notice the reaction Jesus is telling His followers to have when they are persecuted. Though persecution is not to be sought after, it is not to be grievous either. It is not only a cause for joy, but is also the indication of eternal reward.
   This is quite a message in that it sets Christians upon a different track for the future. This world seeks a different direction entirely. But, it is not Christians who are diverting from the choice that is most consistent with reality, it is this present evil world.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for saving us from this present evil world. Though Your created world is beautiful (though cursed because of sin), the world system of humanity is corrupted. We are to be strangers and pilgrims in relation to it, even though we are patriotic citizens of Your great kingdom. Thank You for allowing us to be a part of it! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.”

   Son of Man is here capitalized for a very good reason. The title ‘Son of Man’ comes from Daniel chapter 7 verses 13 through 14. It is a Messianic reference. So, the meaning here is that Jesus is teaching about persecution. This is really the main theme here at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The rest of the verse speaks of the various things that might be done to one for being a follower of Christ. And yet Jesus pronounces blessing for the persecution comes as the result of taking a stand with Him as the Messiah.

   Heavenly Father, I praise You for the Christ! Jesus is our Savior and He is all that our lives are about. I will live to sing of His work on the cross. It is glorious and His resurrection is final. He is alive, and life is the most important point of the message. You are the Self-Existent One. You exist of Your Own accord. Life by Christ is the great important thing for humanity to grasp. I praise You for the power of life in Him! In the Name for the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.”

   To understand this verse correctly it must be taken in context. Just as Jesus was not simply talking about poor persons in the last verse, He is not here referring to all hungry or sad persons. Looking at the next few verses we instead see that He speaks to the fledgling community of His true followers. They would experience hunger and hard times while in His service. They would not necessarily have this world’s best. This message still rings true today. It still brings comfort to the hearts of Christ’s most dedicated followers. It helps His church to remember that this present world is fleeting. It is only a temporary reality that will soon fade away.
   Notice the word ‘now’ used with hunger and weep. This is the present condition, but not a permanent one. Those who hunger and suffer emotionally for the sake of righteousness will not always be in that state. The Lord has much in store for those who love Him. It is of most comfort not to think of reward, but to think of His care for His people. Though that includes reward, Christians serve out of love knowing He has good plans for the future.

   Heavenly Father, Your plans are perfect! You know exactly what to do at all times. You have everything in hand. Nothing slips by Your notice. I praise You for Your great wisdom and unfailing love. A song to Your praise is the business of my heart. Forever I’ll be in awe of You and Your Majesty. You alone merit our praise. None else compares to You at all. Today and every day may our hearts swell with adoration as we ponder Your faithfulness and mercy. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:20 “Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.”

   Although Jesus had quite a ministry to the poor and oppressed, this verse does not mean what it appears to on the surface. The poor should be ministered to. Their needs are not ignored by God, nor should they be ignored by Christians. However, the word here translated ‘poor’ has a deeper meaning than we see at first. Matthew 5:3 helps fill in the meaning by saying ‘poor in spirit’. Jesus is talking about persons who were not only generally poor in the material things of this world, but also were deprived of the truth. So the focus here is upon those who, due to the Jewish system, had been by and large deprived of the right to ‘know’ the Scriptures. The Jewish leaders reserved this right to themselves.
   And this is a pattern we see throughout history. Many times truth has been monopolized so as to keep the masses at bay. Different methods and means have been employed, but the purpose has been the same. When the ‘truth’ gets in the hands of a select few it tends to get corrupted. Whereas when it is made more widely available, it tends to remain more pure. Though even this has to be understood, for even availability does not equal understanding. A knowledge of the Holy One needs to be obtained and passed along through the vast host of humanity for the truth as it should be to remain as it truly is.
   So, Jesus is speaking to those who had been ‘left out’ so to speak. He is saying that the plan of God was to make the kingdom of God accessible to all who would desire the Truth, not just some specialized religious oligarchy. This principal is absolutely foundational to the teaching of Christ, and the operation of His church in its proper form.

   Heavenly Father, we tend to grab rather than letting go. Give us a heart like Yours! You are at the same time generous and discerning. You know the best for each of us. You know the very content of our souls. Everything we will ever understand, even in heaven one day, is simple and plain to Your mind. You are beyond all our imagining, and yet to know You is still the best use of our faculties. Your praise is the most important thing in our lives. Out of that flows all that we need for every situation. It is that which is the target of the enemy, only because of jealousy. And it is that which we each crave for ourselves, but withhold selfishly from others. I praise You for You are Mighty above all! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:19 “And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.”

   We know Jesus can heal people without touching them. He and His disciples did it more than once. But, it generally wasn’t done that way? Why? There is a message in the touching. Though it is not a limitation for Him, it is for us. We need contact with the Divine. It makes a difference to us that He is reachable and touchable. We like the feeling that He knows and understands us on a human level. He is not just far away and unapproachable. Though Holy beyond all imagining, Jesus made it possible for us to reach out and have contact with Him. And, even now with the Spirit here to fill us we have that opportunity for contact. It is so vitally important to understand that we can have a personal relationship with the Eternal God.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for Your amazing wisdom! You know how we are and what we need. It is just wonderful how You reach to us. And it is all to and for Your glory! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:18 “as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.”

   Jesus has absolute power. As we study His life it is important to keep this in mind. We tend to forget because we are limited and would expect Him to do different things if He was really that powerful and authoritative. But, He is also Holy and infinitely wise. And as a result He doesn’t ask our permission on how to use His power. He knew exactly what to do and what not to do while He was here on earth. Though He had the power to cast out the enemy, He limited what he did. The mission before Him was what He focused on. But, make no mistake, all evil will flee before His face.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for Your plans and ways. Though we don’t often understand everything, we can appreciate Your perfect timing and guiding on things. You know best, and we trust that. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.